China, India Stick With Coal as Air Worsens

Sulfur pollution masked effect of CO2 emissions

(NEWSER) - The vast amounts of coal China burned during the 2000s may have actually slowed down climate change, according to a new study. Researchers believe the sulfur pollution caused by burning coal deflected the sun's rays, causing a temporary plateau in warming, the AP reports. But while sulfur drops out of the air quickly, carbon dioxide, another byproduct, remains for a long time—and carbon dioxide's warming effects are beginning to be visible again. Temperatures lurched upward in 2009 and 2010, the study finds. More»

Negotiators appear ready to extend, build on Kyoto protocol

(NEWSER) - New draft proposals at the Copenhagen summit have renewed optimism that negotiators will find consensus on a substantial deal. One plan would renew and extend the Kyoto protocol—this time, presumably, with a US endorsement—which is set to expire in 2012. Another draft proposal, framed as a "Kyoto companion" calls for more action from developing countries, which get something of a pass in the Kyoto agreement. More»

China, India helped draft leaked agreement they railed against

(NEWSER) - The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the agreement, which seeks to impose stricter limits on developing nations’ emissions, an insider tells the Los Angeles Times . More»

Copenhagen deal closer, but 2050 goal less likely

(NEWSER) - Industrialized nations backed away from long-term carbon cut demands on developing nations yesterday, in the hopes of reaching a deal at December's Copenhagen summit. The US and EU have pushed for a 50% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2050, but China and India refused to sign up, wary of binding themselves to future cuts. As the Financial Times reports, dropping the 2050 demand and focusing on more short-term goals will make it easier to strike a deal even if it disappoints environmentalists and Western governments. More»

(NEWSER) - At their recent summit, the G8 nations vowed to cut emissions 80% ... within 41 years. That seems like a pretty lethargic response to a so-called “emergency,” but as Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi said, the effort is virtually futile while “5 billion people continue to behave as they have always behaved.” The real problem, writes George Will of the Washington Post, is that they’re behaving—and industrializing—as they never have before. More»